Vivi's POV

As soon I was sure Kai was out of earshot, I let out the pain-filled groan I'd been holding in. My hands immediately shot up to my head as I caressed the back of my neck.

Something- something is there.

I can feel it.

I heard the faint noise of footsteps approaching me, but blatantly ignored them.

"Vivian?" Sensei's voice echoed, while I slowly managed to lift my face up.

"Hi" I winced, a smile etched onto my face.

Sensei frowned, walking over to me with his eyebrows slightly furrowed. "Your not going with them?"

I chuckled, "nope."

Wu sighed, eyeing the placement of my hands on my neck.

"Did he perhaps hit you back there?"

Dang, he's perceptive I realized.

"See, I have no idea what's wrong with me. I mean Morro didn't even lay a finger on me, and I feel no pain whatsoever in my neck- it's my head..." I trailed off, becoming aware of the sudden buzzing sensation coursing through my brain.

"Hm, that is strange" Wu mumbled, now standing up.

The old man gazed at me, though I was too occupied by the sensation to care.

"Would you mind lifting my hat off of my head? With your powers I mean" Wu asked.

His hat? "Hm, sure I guess" I nodded.

I looked up at the accessory and did what I always did, focused all my energy on that one object, waiting until it hovered about his head.

It requires concentration.

...but the hat never lifted.

"AUGH!" I cried out, wincing at the new pain that seared through me.

Not just my brain, but my entire body shook as I collapsed down from my sitting position. My body twitched in shivers, and the buzzing spreading and turning into heat, like wind storming through me.

I tried to speak, but only a gurgling noise escaped my mouth.

WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH THIS DUDE, HELP ME MAN    I screamed internally, hoping he somehow heard me.

After what felt like hours of him digesting the scene, he came over to my aid.

"VIVI, ARE YOU O- MISAKO NYA HURRY COME QUICKLY" he urged, as constant shivers continued to ripple throughout me.

"What, Wu-" Misako choked when she saw me. "Vivian???"

"Quickly, GO GET NYA!" Wu ordered, Misako hesitantly obeying.

A sliver of indigo light shone on the floor in front of me, framed by my lashes.

My eyes are...glowing?

Someone tell me what the heck is happening to me.

My insides felt like a hurricane was bashing through them, slowly replacing my contentment with pain.

Footsteps slammed against the cool, wooden floor, as someone- most likely Nya- made their way over.

"Oh my goodness..." she whispered, crouching down to caress my face. Her touch sent shivers down my spine, though the heat radiating inside me didn't give out.

More footsteps quickly halted next to where Nya stood, Misako's I'm assuming.

"WU! What happened? What do we do?" Lloyds mothers panting was audible, indicating that she really had rushed over here.

It's weird. I'm in excruciating pain, agony, but still I feel so...

Light.

Functional.

I can't physically talk, but the voice in my head is clear as day.

Drastically contrasting to the chaos in front of me.

I concentrated on my breathing in an attempt to regain strength.

I just need to turn over. Let them see my face.

My eyes.

Carefully, I brought my trembling arms by my side.

Silence tore through the previous noise, as everyone's attention shifted back to me.

Shakily, I managed to push myself up against the wall.

Good, progress.

Keep on going.

My jelly arms shook so heavily, that it looked as though I was shivering.

I can't imagine how weak I look right now.

I let out a huff before sucking in one final breath to push my back up beside the wall.

I'm here.

A crescent of visibility unfolded in front of me whilst I unclenched my eyes.

Wu, Nya and Misako glanced down at my lowered head.

Still trembling, I forced my chin up, using my hand as a ledge for it to rest on.

The burning sensation eased into a throb, my muscles subconsciously clenching and unclenching.

Nya's POV

She's trembling.

She looks so weak.

Vivi.

My eyes wavered as she forced herself up, ignoring the immense amount of pain she was probably in.

Vivi.

The way her eyes were clenched shut, the audible gritting of her teeth, the slight whimpers escaping her pressed lips.

Vivi, Vivi, Vivi.

Stop.

My breathing hitched when she pushed her chin up, revealing an indigo ray of light emitting from her eyes.

A tear rolled gown her cheek, probably from how tightly her eyes were closed.

Or from the agony.

"Vivian..." Wu trailed off, staring at the mess in front of him.

Vivi opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She furrowed her eyebrows in frustration, averting her eyes to the ground.

"Um, K-kai and the others left just a few minutes ago, we should be able to-"

"No." Wu interrupted.

"No?" I repeated, legitimately concerned and worried. A bit shocked too.

"Why not!? Zane could scan her and-"

"The boys need to focus on finding Morro. If they come back here, their worries will be shifted to Vivi, and my former student will have nobody after him. He will be likely to succeed in whatever he has set out to do," Wu explained.

"OKAY, but isn't Vivi second in importance to Lloyd? We have to do something- oh wait the boys are after Lloyd." I realized.

"Firstly, all of them are equal. Vivian and My son are just a little... a little more powerful element wise." Misako lectured. "But Wu, Nya has a point we must do something to help Vivian."

Wu turned his head, determination etched into his expression. "Oh I plan too."

Wellll that sounds oddly sketchy.

I sighed, shifting my gaze back down to Vivi.

She was still trembling, but seemed more comfortable than before.

Barely.

Her hands were tense, one tightly snaked around her knees and the other clutching the back of her neck. Her neck gently rested in the crook formed by the gap between her knees and chest.

She was probably just listening.

The sight of her put a frown on my lips.

Poor jay. He just got to see her again and now bam.

Morro.

That idiot better pray for his life because I am going to END his whole ghostly bloodline or whatever happens in the damn cursed realm.

I turned to Sensei, now wearing the same determination he wore.

"Sensei, I'm ready for more training."

Cole's POV

"Soo how ya holding up buddy?" I questioned, looking at a sulking Jay.

I mean, he always looks either go-lucky happy or scared to death, but the nervous energy I'm picking up on right now is...well uncomfortable to say the least.

He sighed, deepening his sulk to a more apparent pout.

"Oh yes I'm doing wonderful, just dying inside at the thought of my beloved sister, whom I haven't seen in forever dying how are you Cole?" He chuckled, a painful smile painted on his face.

...Well this is concerning.

I sigh escaped my parted lips, my eyes taking themselves to the ceiling

"Yeah I'm worried about her too." I admitted, looking down at my feet. I sighed, exasperated. Why is it that we ninja never get a break?

It's been around half and hour since we left the others to look for Sensei Yangs scroll, Jay and I taking one half of the museum while Zane and Kai took the other.

It's safe to say that we've made virtually no progress whatsoever.

"Hey, you guys find anything?"

Simultaneously, Jay and I turned our heads to meet Kai and Zane.

"Nope," I answered, popping the P.

"Yeah I figured," Kai sighed.

"Well, there is only one part of the museum that remains to be checked, let's go there together," Zane suggested.

"Eh, sure" I shrugged.

Kai nodded, and so we followed Zane without much reluctance.

~

"So uh, how's he holding up?" Kai asked, appearing beside me.

Jay strutted in front of the both of us, weakly following Zanes lead.

It had completely silent up until now.

I whispered back, "Yeeeah, not all that well."

Simply nodding, the fire ninja continued his pace beside me.

I gotta say, the silence around here is crazy awkward. Deafening almost.

"Well, we have arrived" Zane announced, stepping aside so we could glance around.

Immediately, I noticed a display case with a scroll in it aligned center against the middle of the right wall.

"Ah, there" Kai nodded before me, alerting the rest of us.

..Tch.

"Ayy we found it! Now let's hurry and get back to the others" Jay insisted, urgency apparent in his voice.

Kai's POV

I sighed deeply, using one hand to massage my temple.

I would tell him not to worry, but honestly I'm just as anxious as he is.

And I know that Vivi's actually hurt. If Jay found out, his mental state would loosen more than it already has.

Plus, we're talking about Jay here. He's already extremely weird as it is, we don't need to add onto that.

"Yeah, let's go" I agreed, nodding.

"Uh, but shouldn't we be learning Airjitzu, not returning back to where we came from?" Zane questioned.

"Um, yeah he's right" Cole pointed out, scratching the back of his neck.

Jay sighed, averting his eyes to the ground. "Can I just go see her? Please?" His hands slightly shook while he formed them into fists. "I-I'm...scared."

Our eyes widened while he confessed his fear. I mean we already knew he was worried, but hearing it from him...

"Yeah, so am I," I admitted.

Cole simply nodded, while Zane looked at us with the most perplexed expression.

"You guys know that she's perfectly fine right? I doubt my scan was wrong." He stated, raising an eyebrow at our tense state.

Oho, you have no idea buddy.

"Well," I started, earning everyone's attention.

Crap I was not ready for that.

"Um... "

"Um what Kai?" Cole urged, lifting an eyebrow.

I groaned, lifting my hands up to cover my face.

"...Ugh, I think she's in trouble"

Jays eyes widened, while he turned to face me.

"Trouble....?" He trailed off, his voice a whimper.

"I don't know for sure but, I think Morro really did something to her. " I let my hands fall, taking in a deep breath. "But..."

I'm gonna have to be the strong one here.

"...I need to keep my promise. We go find Morro."

Vivi's POV

Well, life really sucks right now.

Ha.

To think I've finally found Jay after all these years, just to become....

Well what have I become?

My minds clear, almost empty in a way?

I feel mentally fine.

Stable.

But physically I feel like crap.

The trembling has gone down, but I'm still shaking slightly.

And frequently.

I've gained minimal mobility in my hands, but the most I can do is twitch my fingers.

Still, it's progress.

I can't properly speak, nor has the glow from my eyes subsided though.

And before all that too....

-flashback-

"Sensei, I'm ready for more training"

Uncertainty paralyzed Wu's face, while he took in Nya's words.

His small smile made itself apparent, signaling that he was content with Nya's reaction.

"Very well then. Come."

And just like that, together they left outside.

Training? What kinda if trading could Nya possibly be talking about? She did say she was a samurai so... ugh I have no clue.

Misako suddenly entered my view, sucking me out from my own thoughts.

She bent down to my level, being carful not to disturb my in anyway.

A sudden wince rippled through her, a reaction to my impulsive twitches and trembles.

A cool sensation spread throughout my cheek, due to Lloyds mother placing a caring hand there.

"Hang in there Vivian, we'll figure something out"

I let my eyes fall to the ground, feeling defeated as ever.

I hate this.

I hate feeling powerless.

In my mind, I can move. I'm fine.

But in reality, I'm a mess.

And a failure.

-end of flashback-

Staring up at the ceiling, I mentally curse myself as another pounding headache burns through me.

At this rate, I'll never be well enough in time to get Lloyd back.

To fix what I could've, no, should've prevented.

Kai, I'm so, so sorry.

Please hurry.

-Wait.

Kai.

"KAI!"

A/N

Heyy guys!

IM BACKKK!

Thank you everyone for taking the time to actually read this book and for patiently waiting for each chapter, but I'll officially start writing again ;)

Chapters will get a bit shorter though, about the length of this one? The older ones were about 3,000 words per chapter and that was a hassle so... this is about 2,000.

(2,214 to be exact including this A/N and everything)

Also THANKS SO MUCH FOR 2.2k READSS AH I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD GET THAT MANYY

Anyways did you guys enjoy the chapter? Tell me if my writing improved or not because I did work on it a little :)

So, again TYSM aand MERRY CHRISTMASSS 🎄✨🎁 

See ya next week!

-Tigersx1 🌼

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